US20070238326A1 - Module to couple to a plurality of backplanes in a chassis - Google Patents
Module to couple to a plurality of backplanes in a chassis Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- US20070238326A1 US20070238326A1 US11/393,389 US39338906A US2007238326A1 US 20070238326 A1 US20070238326 A1 US 20070238326A1 US 39338906 A US39338906 A US 39338906A US 2007238326 A1 US2007238326 A1 US 2007238326A1
- Authority
- US
- United States
- Prior art keywords
- backplane
- couple
- module
- communication interface
- communication
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Granted
Links
Images
Classifications
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H05—ELECTRIC TECHNIQUES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- H05K—PRINTED CIRCUITS; CASINGS OR CONSTRUCTIONAL DETAILS OF ELECTRIC APPARATUS; MANUFACTURE OF ASSEMBLAGES OF ELECTRICAL COMPONENTS
- H05K7/00—Constructional details common to different types of electric apparatus
- H05K7/14—Mounting supporting structure in casing or on frame or rack
- H05K7/1438—Back panels or connecting means therefor; Terminals; Coding means to avoid wrong insertion
- H05K7/1447—External wirings; Wiring ducts; Laying cables
- H05K7/1451—External wirings; Wiring ducts; Laying cables with connections between circuit boards or units
Definitions
- Modular platform systems are typically used in communication networks where reliability is increased and cost reduced by the use of interoperable pieces.
- Such interoperable pieces may include modular platform shelves or chassis.
- each modular platform chassis receives and couples in communication various interoperable pieces or modules.
- These modules may include circuit boards or mezzanine cards. These boards or mezzanine cards may include, but are not limited to, blades, carrier boards, processing boards, switches, hubs, etc.
- Other interoperable modules that are received and coupled in a modular platform chassis may include components such as fans, power equipment modules (PEM), field replaceable units (FRUs), alarm boards, etc.
- PEM power equipment modules
- FRUs field replaceable units
- Some industry initiatives are seeking ways to standardize the way modules in a modular platform system interoperate.
- One such initiative is the PCI Industrial Computer Manufacturers Group (PICMG), Advanced Telecommunications Computing Architecture (ATCA) Base Specification, PICMG 3.0 Rev. 2.0, published Mar. 18, 2005, and/or later versions of the specification (“the ATCA specification”).
- PICMG PCI Industrial Computer Manufacturers Group
- ATCA Advanced Telecommunications Computing Architecture
- modules designed to operate according to the ATCA specification are received in slots in a modular platform chassis. These modules may then couple to a backplane via communication interfaces that are associated with a fabric interface.
- FIG. 1 provides a partial view of an example modular platform system with modules coupled to backplanes in an modular platform chassis;
- FIGS. 2 A-B provide side views of a portion of the example modular platform system with S two backplanes in the modular platform chassis;
- FIGS. 3 A-B provide additional side views of a portion of the example modular platform system with two backplanes in the modular platform chassis;
- FIGS. 4 A-C provide side views of a portion of the example modular platform chassis with three backplanes
- FIG. 5A is an illustration of an example modular platform system with a module to be received in an example modular platform chassis
- FIG. 5B provides a side view of a portion of the example modular platform system.
- FIG. 6 is a flow chart of an example method to insert the module into the slot in the modular platform chassis to couple the module to a plurality of backplanes.
- modules that are received in slots in an ATCA compliant modular platform chassis may couple to a backplane via communication interfaces that are associated with a fabric interface.
- these modules may couple in communication via the fabric interface to each other through one or more communication channels that are routed over the backplane.
- These communication channels may be used to forward data from each module's fabric interface and then through portions of the communication channel that are routed over the backplane and/or through other elements in the ATCA modular platform chassis (e.g., switches or hubs). At least a portion of the data, for example, is forwarded to other modules coupled to the backplane.
- a single backplane in a modular platform chassis is limited in the number of communication channels allocated to forward data from a module that couples to it via a fabric interface.
- a type of ATCA compliant modular platform chassis is designed to receive and couple in communication 16 modules.
- 14 modules or boards may be coupled in communication through two switch modules.
- This configuration is referred to in the ATCA specification as a dual-star fabric topology.
- no more than one communication channel is provided to a non hub/switch module to forward data to another module via its fabric interface when coupled to an ATCA backplane.
- a single communication channel may result in a bottleneck for data forwarded from this non hub/switch module. This bottleneck is problematic to the throughput of data forwarded through a module's fabric interface when the module is coupled to a single backplane and also limits the throughput capability of a modular platform system.
- a chassis in one example, includes a plurality of slots to receive modules.
- the chassis includes a first backplane to couple to modules that are received in the slots.
- the modules are to couple via a first communication interface on each module.
- a second backplane is also included in the chassis.
- the second backplane is to couple to at least a subset of the modules.
- the subset of the modules to couple via a second communication interface on each of the subset of modules.
- FIG. 1 provides a partial view of an example modular platform system 100 with modules coupled to backplanes in modular platform chassis 101 .
- modules e.g., front boards
- modules e.g., front boards
- Modular platform chassis 101 is also shown as including rear slots 104 A-M to receive modules (e.g., rear transition modules (RTMs).
- RTMs rear transition modules
- the partial view of modular platform chassis 101 also shows lower air plenum 106 B.
- modular platform 100 also includes an upper air plenum 106 A. These upper and lower air plenums, for example, facilitate the flow of air into and out of modular platform chassis 101 .
- modular platform chassis 101 includes a plurality of backplanes to couple to modules that are received in its front or rear slots.
- the plurality of backplanes includes backplanes 140 and 150 . These backplanes may couple to modules inserted or received in front slots 102 A-M, (e.g., front boards 110 , 120 or 130 ) or in rear slots 104 A-M (e.g., RTMs—not shown).
- Backplane 140 includes communication interfaces 142 A-M and power interface 145 A-M.
- communication interfaces 142 A-M couple to communication interfaces on modules received in front slots 102 A-M.
- communication interface 142 C couples to communication interface 112 on front board 110 .
- Power interfaces 145 A-M in one example, provide power to modules received in front slots 102 A-M.
- power interface 145 C couples to power interface 115 on front board 110 to provide power to front board 110 .
- Backplane 150 includes communication interfaces 152 A-M and 154 A-M.
- communication interfaces 152 A-M couple to modules received in front slots 102 A-M and communication interfaces 154 A-M couple to modules received in rear slots 104 A-M.
- communication interfaces 152 C and 152 H couple to communication interfaces 112 and 122 , respectively, on front boards 110 and 120 .
- communication interfaces 154 C and 154 H may couple to communication interfaces on RTMs (not shown) received in rear slots 104 C and 104 H, respectively.
- modular platform chassis 101 is designed to operate in compliance with the ATCA specification.
- backplane 140 and modules received in front slots 102 A-M or rear slots 104 A-M may also be designed to operate in compliance with the ATCA specification, although this disclosure is not limited to only ATCA complaint modular platform chassis, backplanes and modules but may also apply to Compact Peripheral Component Interface (cPCI), VersaModular Eurocard (VME), or other types of industry standards governing the design and operation of chassis, backplanes and modules.
- cPCI Compact Peripheral Component Interface
- VME VersaModular Eurocard
- this disclosure may also apply to proprietary chassis, backplanes and modules designed to operate in a modular platform system.
- communication interface 112 on front board 110 is to couple to backplane 140 in an ATCA backplane region called “zone 2”.
- the ATCA specification refers to zone 2 as the data transport connector zone.
- communication interface 112 is associated with a “base” interface and a “fabric” interface that couple to backplane 140 via one or more interconnects.
- the fabric interface associated with communication interface 112 is used to forward data and/or instructions through a communication channel, a portion of which is routed over backplane 140 . At least some of the data, for example, is forwarded to other modules received in front slots 102 A-M and/or rear slots 104 A-M.
- an ATCA compliant modular platform chassis 101 is configured in a dual-star fabric topology.
- a single communication channel is provided to a module coupled to an ATCA compliant backplane to forward data from the non hub/switch module's fabric interface through that single communication channel.
- communication interface 112 on front board 110 couples to communication interface 142 C and data is forwarded from the fabric interface associated with communication interface 142 C and then through portions of the communication channel routed over backplane 140 .
- At least a portion of the data in this dual-star example, is forwarded through switch or hub modules and then to other modules that are coupled to backplane 140 (e.g., front boards 120 or 130 ) or to modules remotely located to modular platform chassis 101 .
- communication interfaces 152 A-M and 154 A-M on backplane 150 may couple to communication interfaces on modules received in front slots 102 A-M or rear slots 104 A-M. This may provide additional communication channels for these modules to forward data from fabric interfaces associated with their communication interfaces coupled to these backplane 150 communication interfaces.
- a fabric interface associated with communication interface 114 on front board 110 couples to a communication channel routed over backplane 150 via communication interface 152 C. Data, for example, is forwarded through the fabric interface and then through the communication channel routed to communication interface 152 C and over backplane 150 and then possibly through/to other modules coupled to either backplane 140 or backplane 150 .
- a fabric interface for a module received in modular platform chassis 101 may be designed to support one or more packet-based communication protocols.
- packet-based communication protocols for example, are associated with and/or described by sub-set specifications to the ATCA specification and are typically referred to as the “PICMG 3.x specifications.”
- the PICMG 3.x specifications include, but are not limited to, Ethernet/Fibre Channel (PICMG 3.1), Infiniband (PICMG 3.2), StarFabric (PICMG 3.3), PCI-Express/Advanced Switching (PICMG 3.4), Advanced Fabric Interconnect/S-RapidIO (PICMG 3.5) and Packet Routing Switch (PICMG 3.6).
- a fabric interface associated with communication interface 112 or a fabric interface associated with communication interface 124 may support a communication protocol described in a PICMG 3.x specification.
- This PICMG 3.x specification support for example, is to facilitate the forwarding of data and/or instructions from front board 110 and through portions of the communication channels routed over backplanes 140 or 150 .
- a fabric interface for a module received in modular platform chassis 101 may be designed to support other types of communication protocols.
- the fabric interface may support time division multiplexing (TDM) and/or frequency division multiplexing (FDM).
- TDM time division multiplexing
- FDM frequency division multiplexing
- a fabric interface that supports TDM may operate in compliance with one or more industry standards associated with optical interconnects.
- One such industry standard is the Optical Internetworking Forum (OIF), TFI-5: TDM Fabric to Framer Interface Implementation, published September, 2003 and/or later versions (“the TFI-5 specification”).
- fabric interfaces associated with communication interfaces on modules that couple to backplane 140 in modular platform chassis 101 operate in compliance with one or more packet-based PICMG 3.x specifications.
- fabric interfaces associated with communication interfaces on modules that couple to backplane 150 operate in compliance with a TDM-based standard such as the TFI-5 specification.
- packet-based communication protocols are used to forward data from modules via communication channels routed over backplane 140 and TDM-based communication protocols are used to forward data from modules via communication channels routed over backplane 150 .
- At least a portion of the backplanes in modular platform chassis 101 may be either active or passive backplanes.
- a passive backplane may operate in accordance with the ATCA specification and thus includes little to no active circuitry or logic that is resident on the backplane.
- An active backplane for example, may be a backplane that includes active circuitry or logic that is resident on the backplane.
- FIG. 2A provides a side view of a portion of modular platform system 100 with two backplanes in modular platform chassis 101 .
- the first backplane is backplane 140 and another backplane is backplane 150 .
- backplane 150 is located or mounted just above front board 110 and RTM 210 at the lower portion of upper air plenum 106 A.
- Backplane 150 in one example, is designed to be as narrow as possible to reduce the obstruction of air flow as it moves from air inlet 205 to air outlet 207 .
- backplane 150 may also be placed or mounted at the upper portion of lower air plenum 106 B.
- FIG. 2A depicts an upper air plenum 106 A.
- lower air plenum 106 B has an air inlet 205 and upper air plenum 106 A has an air outlet 207 .
- fan 222 is located in upper air plenum 106 A and pulls air from air inlet 205 to air outlet 207 to cool elements contained within modular platform chassis 101 .
- This disclosure is not limited to only a fan located in an upper air plenum. The fan may be located anywhere within modular platform chassis 101 to move air to cool elements within modular platform chassis 101 .
- front board 110 includes communication interfaces 112 and 114 that couple to communication interfaces on these two backplanes.
- FIG. 2A shows a module 210 (e.g., an RTM) coupled to front board 110 .
- RTM 210 in one example, couples to backplane 150 via communication interface 214 and couples to front board 110 via RTM interface 212 .
- front board 110 , backplane 140 and RTM 210 are each designed to operate in compliance with the ATCA specification.
- RTM interface 212 on RTM 210 couples to front board 110 via RTM interface 117 in another ATCA connector zone (“zone 3”).
- RTM 210 receives power when coupled to front board 110 through RTM interface 212 .
- the power for example, is provided through power feeds (not shown) routed from RTM interface 117 .
- the RTM interfaces on front board 110 and RTM 210 are also associated with at least one fabric interface to forward data over a communication channel between RTM 210 and front board 110 .
- communication interface 214 on RTM 210 is associated with a fabric interface through which data is forwarded when communication interface 214 is coupled to backplane 150 .
- Data for example, is forwarded through this fabric interface and then through portions of a communication channel routed over backplane 150 and through/to other modules coupled to either backplane 140 or backplane 150 .
- the fabric interface may operate in compliance with one or more communication protocols.
- various interconnects are configured to couple the fabric interface associated with the communication interfaces on front board 110 and RTM 220 to communication channels routed over backplanes 140 and 150 .
- These interconnects are portrayed in FIG. 2A as interconnects 112 A-E, 114 A and 214 A. At least one interconnect from among interconnects 112 A-E, for example, couples a fabric interface associated with communication interface 112 to a communication channel routed over backplane 140 .
- an interconnect is configured to couple a fabric communication interface to a communication channel routed over backplane 140 and/or 150 in an impedance controlled manner (e.g., via copper-based traces).
- the interconnect is configured to couple via other manners such as in an optical (e.g., via optical paths), inductive or capacitive manner.
- MEMS micro electromechanical systems
- the VCSEL/photodiode arrays may be packaged in a flip-chip assembly.
- the VCSEL/photodiode arrays allow an interconnect to implement an electrical-to-optical conversion and conversely an optical-to-electrical conversion of data forwarded/received through the communication channel coupled to the fabric interface in an optical manner.
- the interconnect configured to couple in an inductive manner
- the interconnect includes an out-of-plane, three-turn spiral with micro (very small) coil dimensions.
- the interconnect includes a parallel plate, area-tunable, MEMS capacitor.
- interconnects 112 A-E for an ATCA compliant front board 110 and backplane 140 are high density, impedance controlled connectors as described in the ATCA specification.
- interconnects 112 A-E couple with communication interface 142 C.
- a fabric interface associated with communication interface 112 is coupled to a communication channel routed over backplane 140 .
- interconnect 114 A on front board 110 and interconnect 214 A on RTM 210 are configured to be vertically retractable. For example, prior to the insertion of front board 110 in slot 102 C on modular platform chassis 101 , interconnect 114 A may be in a retracted position. Once inserted, interconnect 114 A may change its retracted position such that it couples with communication interface 152 C on backplane 150 . This coupling may include coupling in an impedance controlled manner or, as described above, may include coupling with an interconnect configured to couple in an optical, an inductive or a capacitive manner. Thus, for example, a fabric interface associated with communication interface 114 is coupled to a communication channel routed over backplane 150 via the vertically retractable interconnect 114 A.
- interconnect 114 A and interconnect 214 A are not configured to be vertically retractable but are configured to couple to communication interface 152 C or 154 C once inserted in slot 102 C.
- This coupling may include coupling in an impedance controlled manner or, as described above, may include a coupling in an optical, an inductive or a capacitive manner.
- FIGS. 2B provides another side view of a portion of modular platform system 100 with two backplanes in modular platform chassis 101 . Similar to FIG. 2A , in one example, one backplane is backplane 140 and another backplane is backplane 150 . However, FIG. 2B depicts backplane 150 as located or mounted at the upper portion of lower air plenum 106 B. As shown in FIG. 2B , in one example, front board 110 and RTM 210 's communication interfaces 114 and 214 , respectively, are now located to couple to backplane 150 in this position.
- FIG. 3A provides an additional side view of a portion of modular platform system 100 with a first backplane and a second wide backplane in modular platform chassis 101 .
- the first backplane is backplane 140 as depicted in FIG. 1 and FIGS. 2 A-B.
- a wide backplane 350 replaces a narrow backplane 150 and is placed or mounted at the upper portion of upper air plenum 106 A.
- backplane 350 's placement in this position lessens the need to maintain a narrow backplane to reduce the obstruction of air flow as if moves from air inlet 205 to air outlet 207 .
- a wider backplane may increase the quantity and types of communication channels supported and/or routed through the wider backplane.
- interconnect 114 A for communication interface 114 is configured to include a flexible signal medium.
- This flexible signal medium includes, but is not limited to, a flexible circuit, a ribbon cable, a coaxial cable or an optical glass/plastic fiber.
- the flexible signal medium for example is used to couple communication interface 114 to a communication channel that is routed over backplane 350 .
- interconnect 114 A passes through opening 119 on front board 110 and opening 319 C on modular platform chassis 101 .
- Interconnect 114 A may then couple to communication interface 352 C on backplane 350 .
- interconnect 114 C couples a fabric interface associated with communication interface 114 to a communication channel that is routed over backplane 350 .
- This coupling may include a coupling in either an impedance controlled, optical, inductive or capacitive manner.
- interconnect 214 A is configured to couple in an optical manner to a fabric interface associated with communication interface 214 to a communication channel that is routed to communication interface 154 C and over backplane 350 .
- interconnect 214 A includes VCSEL/photodiode arrays.
- Interconnect 214 A is configured to use these VCSEL/photodiode arrays to couple the fabric interface to the communication channel via an optical path.
- This optical path for example, includes plastic or glass fibers and/or plastic or glass waveguides that may propagate an optical signal from the VCSEL/photodiode arrays using either single wavelength or wavelength division multiplexing (WDM).
- WDM wavelength division multiplexing
- this optical path is routed from interface 214 , through the space/gap in upper air plenum 106 A and to communication interfaces 154 C without the use of flexible signal mediums or retractably configured interconnects.
- both interconnects 114 A and 214 A are configured to include flexible signal mediums or both are configured to include VCSEL/photodiode arrays to couple in an optical manner without the use of flexible signal mediums or retractably configured interconnects.
- interconnects 114 A and 214 A are configured to couple in combinations of other types of coupling manners (e.g., impedance controlled, inductive, capacitive, etc.) that may include the use of flexible signal mediums, retractable interconnects or optical pathways routed though spaces or gaps in air plenums.
- FIG. 3B provides another side view of a portion of modular platform system 100 with first backplane and a second wide backplane in modular platform chassis 101 . Similar to FIG. 3A , in one example, the first backplane is backplane 140 and the second narrow backplane is backplane 350 . However, FIG. 2B depicts backplane 350 at the bottom portion of the lower air plenum 106 B. As shown in FIG. 3B , in one example, front board 10 and RTM 210 's communication interfaces 114 and 214 , respectively, are now located to couple to backplane 350 in this position.
- interconnect 114 A may be configured to couple communication interface 114 to communication interface 152 C via a flexible signal medium that is routed between front board 110 and RTM 210 .
- communication interface 114 is possibly located closer to RTM interface 117 to reduce the length of the flexible signal medium.
- communication interface 152 C may be moved to further reduce the length of the flexible signal medium.
- FIGS. 4 A-C provide side views of a portion of modular platform system 100 with three backplanes in modular platform chassis 101 .
- FIG. 4A depicts modular platform chassis 101 with backplane 140 and two example narrow backplanes, backplane 150 A and backplane 150 B.
- FIG. 4B shows backplane 140 and two example wide backplanes, backplane 350 A and backplane 350 B.
- FIG. 4C portrays backplane 140 and an example combination of a wide and a narrow backplane, backplane 350 and backplane 150 , respectively.
- backplanes located or mounted in upper air plenum 106 A include communication interfaces 152 A-M and 154 A-M to couple to communication interfaces on modules received in front slots 102 A-M or rear slots 104 A-M.
- backplanes located or mounted in lower air plenum 106 B include communication interfaces 156 A-M and 158 A-M to couple to communication interfaces on the modules received in the front and rear slots.
- front board 110 and RTM 210 include communication interfaces 114 , 116 and 224 , 226 , respectively, to couple to either the two narrow, two wide or a combination of wide and narrow backplanes. As depicted in FIGS. 4 A-C these communication interfaces couple to communication interfaces 152 C and 154 C for a backplane mounted in upper air plenum 106 A and couple to communication interfaces 156 C and 158 C for a backplane mounted in lower air plenum 106 B.
- an interconnect may be configured to couple a fabric interface to a communication channel via combinations of various interconnect configurations (e.g., retractable, flexible signal medium, optical path) to couple in different manners (e.g., impedance controlled, optical, inductive, capacitive).
- various interconnect configurations e.g., retractable, flexible signal medium, optical path
- couple in different manners e.g., impedance controlled, optical, inductive, capacitive
- FIG. 5A is an illustration of an example modular platform system 500 with front board 110 to be received in modular platform chassis 501 .
- modular platform chassis 501 includes front slots 502 A-P.
- modular platform chassis 501 includes a plurality of backplanes to couple to communication interfaces on modules inserted in slots in modular platform chassis 501 .
- modular platform chassis 501 also includes rear slots 504 A-P to receive modules (e.g., RTMs) from the rear.
- modules e.g., RTMs
- modular platform chassis 501 includes openings 519 A-P. Openings 519 A-P may facilitate the routing of an interconnect from a front board inserted in slots 502 A-P to a backplane in modular platform chassis 501 .
- interconnect 514 A is configured to include a flexible signal medium that is routed through opening 519 B.
- FIG. 5B provides a side view of a portion of modular platform system 500 with front board 110 received in front slot 502 L of modular platform chassis 501 .
- modular platform chassis 501 includes three backplanes, backplane 540 , backplane 550 and backplane 560 .
- backplane 540 is a backplane similar to the backplane 140 described above.
- backplane 540 for example, is designed in compliance with the ATCA specification.
- backplane 550 is a wide backplane located at the upper portion of upper air plenum 506 A.
- backplane 550 includes communication interfaces 552 A-P and 554 A-P to couple to communication interfaces on modules received in modular platform chassis 501 's front slots 502 A-P and rear slots 504 A-P, respectively.
- interconnect 114 A is configured to include a flexible signal medium that is used to couple a fabric interface associated with communication interface 114 to a communication channel routed to communication interface 552 L and over backplane 550 .
- interconnect 214 A for communication interface 214 on RTM 210 may be configured to couple a fabric interface to a communication channel routed to communication interface 554 L and over backplane 550 .
- backplane 560 in one example, is a narrow backplane located or mounted at the top portion of lower air plenum 506 B. However, in this example, unlike the example narrow backplanes described above, backplane 560 does not couple to communication interfaces on modules received in rear slots 504 A-P. For example, backplane 560 includes communication interfaces 566 A-P to couple to communication interfaces on modules received in front slots 502 A-P. In one implementation, the exclusion of a communication interface to couple to a module received in the rear slots allows for a narrower backplane that may further reduce the obstruction of airflow through modular platform chassis 501 .
- interconnect 116 A in communication interface 116 is configured to couple a fabric interface associated with communication interface 116 to a communication channel routed to communication interface 566 L and over backplane 560 .
- interconnect 116 A for example, is configured to couple via various manners (e.g., impedance controlled, optical, inductive, capacitive).
- FIG. 6 is a flow chart of an example method to insert a module into a slot in a modular platform chassis to couple the module to a plurality of backplanes.
- the example method is implemented when front board 110 is inserted in slot 502 L in modular platform chassis 501 as described for FIGS. 5 A-B.
- backplane 540 in modular platform chassis 501 operates in compliance with the ATCA specification.
- the fabric interface associated with communication interface 112 on front board 110 operates in compliance with the ATCA specification.
- front board 110 is inserted in front slot 502 L of modular platform chassis 501 .
- front board 110 couples to the backplanes in modular platform chassis 101 .
- communication interface 112 couples to communication interface 542 L on backplane 540 .
- Interconnects 112 A-E are configured to couple a fabric interface associated with communication interface 112 to a communication channel routed over backplane 540 .
- the communication channel for example, to couple front board 110 in communication with other modules received or inserted in modular platform chassis 501 's front slots.
- interconnect 114 A is used to couple communication interface 114 on front board 110 to communication interface 552 L on backplane 550 .
- This coupling uses an interconnect 114 A configured to include a flexible signal medium to couple a fabric interface associated with communication interface 114 to a communication channel routed through backplane 550 in either an impedance controlled, optical, inductive or capacitive manner.
- interconnect 116 A can be configured to couple a fabric interface associated with communication interface 116 to a communication channel routed to communication interface 556 L and over backplane 560 .
- data is forwarded between front board 110 and one or more other modules inserted or received in other slots in modular platform chassis 501 . At least portions of this data, for example, is forwarded from the fabric interfaces associated with communication interfaces 112 , 114 and 116 and then through portions of the communication channels routed over backplanes 540 , 550 and 560 , respectively.
- fabric interfaces associated with communication interfaces (e.g., 512 ) that couple to backplane 540 utilize one or more packet-based, communication protocols as described in the PICMG 3.x specifications and backplane 540 supports or operates in compliance with these PICMG 3.x specifications.
- the fabric interfaces included in communication interfaces (e.g., 514 and 516 ) that couple to backplanes 550 and 560 utilize either packet-based (PICMG 3.x) or TDM-based (TFI-5) communication protocols. This utilization is based, for example, on what type of communication protocol backplanes 550 and 560 are designed to support (e.g., PICMG 3.x or TFI-5).
- the process then starts over, for example, when another module is inserted in a slot on modular platform chassis 501 .
- references made in this disclosure to the term “responsive to” are not limited to responsiveness to only a particular feature and/or structure.
- a feature may also be “responsive to” another feature and/or structure and also be located within that feature and/or structure.
- the term “responsive to” may also be synonymous with other terms such as “communicatively coupled to” or “operatively coupled to,” although the term is not limited in his regard.
Abstract
Description
- Modular platform systems are typically used in communication networks where reliability is increased and cost reduced by the use of interoperable pieces. Such interoperable pieces may include modular platform shelves or chassis. Typically, each modular platform chassis receives and couples in communication various interoperable pieces or modules. These modules may include circuit boards or mezzanine cards. These boards or mezzanine cards may include, but are not limited to, blades, carrier boards, processing boards, switches, hubs, etc. Other interoperable modules that are received and coupled in a modular platform chassis may include components such as fans, power equipment modules (PEM), field replaceable units (FRUs), alarm boards, etc.
- Some industry initiatives are seeking ways to standardize the way modules in a modular platform system interoperate. One such initiative is the PCI Industrial Computer Manufacturers Group (PICMG), Advanced Telecommunications Computing Architecture (ATCA) Base Specification, PICMG 3.0 Rev. 2.0, published Mar. 18, 2005, and/or later versions of the specification (“the ATCA specification”). Typically modules designed to operate according to the ATCA specification are received in slots in a modular platform chassis. These modules may then couple to a backplane via communication interfaces that are associated with a fabric interface.
-
FIG. 1 provides a partial view of an example modular platform system with modules coupled to backplanes in an modular platform chassis; - FIGS. 2A-B provide side views of a portion of the example modular platform system with S two backplanes in the modular platform chassis;
- FIGS. 3A-B provide additional side views of a portion of the example modular platform system with two backplanes in the modular platform chassis;
- FIGS. 4A-C provide side views of a portion of the example modular platform chassis with three backplanes;
-
FIG. 5A is an illustration of an example modular platform system with a module to be received in an example modular platform chassis; -
FIG. 5B provides a side view of a portion of the example modular platform system; and -
FIG. 6 is a flow chart of an example method to insert the module into the slot in the modular platform chassis to couple the module to a plurality of backplanes. - As mentioned in the background, modules that are received in slots in an ATCA compliant modular platform chassis may couple to a backplane via communication interfaces that are associated with a fabric interface. As a result, in one example, these modules may couple in communication via the fabric interface to each other through one or more communication channels that are routed over the backplane. These communication channels may be used to forward data from each module's fabric interface and then through portions of the communication channel that are routed over the backplane and/or through other elements in the ATCA modular platform chassis (e.g., switches or hubs). At least a portion of the data, for example, is forwarded to other modules coupled to the backplane.
- Typically, a single backplane in a modular platform chassis is limited in the number of communication channels allocated to forward data from a module that couples to it via a fabric interface. For example, a type of ATCA compliant modular platform chassis is designed to receive and couple in communication 16 modules. For this ATCA design, 14 modules or boards may be coupled in communication through two switch modules. This configuration is referred to in the ATCA specification as a dual-star fabric topology. In a dual-star fabric topology, according to the ATCA specification, no more than one communication channel is provided to a non hub/switch module to forward data to another module via its fabric interface when coupled to an ATCA backplane. A single communication channel may result in a bottleneck for data forwarded from this non hub/switch module. This bottleneck is problematic to the throughput of data forwarded through a module's fabric interface when the module is coupled to a single backplane and also limits the throughput capability of a modular platform system.
- In one example, a chassis includes a plurality of slots to receive modules. The chassis includes a first backplane to couple to modules that are received in the slots. The modules are to couple via a first communication interface on each module. A second backplane is also included in the chassis. The second backplane is to couple to at least a subset of the modules. The subset of the modules to couple via a second communication interface on each of the subset of modules.
-
FIG. 1 provides a partial view of an examplemodular platform system 100 with modules coupled to backplanes inmodular platform chassis 101. As depicted inFIG. 1 , modules (e.g., front boards) 110, 120 and 130 are received infront slots 102C, 102H and 102K from amongfront slots 102A-M.Modular platform chassis 101 is also shown as includingrear slots 104A-M to receive modules (e.g., rear transition modules (RTMs). The partial view ofmodular platform chassis 101 also showslower air plenum 106B. As described below,modular platform 100 also includes anupper air plenum 106A. These upper and lower air plenums, for example, facilitate the flow of air into and out ofmodular platform chassis 101. - In one implementation,
modular platform chassis 101 includes a plurality of backplanes to couple to modules that are received in its front or rear slots. For example, the plurality of backplanes includesbackplanes front slots 102A-M, (e.g.,front boards rear slots 104A-M (e.g., RTMs—not shown). -
Backplane 140, as depicted inFIG. 1 , includes communication interfaces 142A-M andpower interface 145A-M. In one implementation, communication interfaces 142A-M couple to communication interfaces on modules received infront slots 102A-M. For example,communication interface 142C couples tocommunication interface 112 onfront board 110.Power interfaces 145A-M, in one example, provide power to modules received infront slots 102A-M. For example,power interface 145C couples topower interface 115 onfront board 110 to provide power tofront board 110. -
Backplane 150, as depicted inFIG. 1 , includescommunication interfaces 152A-M and 154A-M. In one implementation,communication interfaces 152A-M couple to modules received infront slots 102A-M andcommunication interfaces 154A-M couple to modules received inrear slots 104A-M. For example,communication interfaces 152C and 152H couple tocommunication interfaces 112 and 122, respectively, onfront boards communication interfaces 154C and 154H may couple to communication interfaces on RTMs (not shown) received inrear slots 104C and 104H, respectively. - In one example,
modular platform chassis 101 is designed to operate in compliance with the ATCA specification. Additionally,backplane 140 and modules received infront slots 102A-M orrear slots 104A-M (e.g.,front boards - In one implementation,
communication interface 112 onfront board 110 is to couple tobackplane 140 in an ATCA backplane region called “zone 2”. The ATCA specification refers to zone 2 as the data transport connector zone. In this implementation,communication interface 112 is associated with a “base” interface and a “fabric” interface that couple tobackplane 140 via one or more interconnects. The fabric interface associated withcommunication interface 112 is used to forward data and/or instructions through a communication channel, a portion of which is routed overbackplane 140. At least some of the data, for example, is forwarded to other modules received infront slots 102A-M and/orrear slots 104A-M. - In one example, an ATCA compliant
modular platform chassis 101 is configured in a dual-star fabric topology. As mentioned above, a single communication channel is provided to a module coupled to an ATCA compliant backplane to forward data from the non hub/switch module's fabric interface through that single communication channel. So in this example,communication interface 112 onfront board 110 couples tocommunication interface 142C and data is forwarded from the fabric interface associated withcommunication interface 142C and then through portions of the communication channel routed overbackplane 140. At least a portion of the data, in this dual-star example, is forwarded through switch or hub modules and then to other modules that are coupled to backplane 140 (e.g.,front boards 120 or 130) or to modules remotely located tomodular platform chassis 101. - In one implementation, as described in more detail below, communication interfaces 152A-M and 154A-M on
backplane 150 may couple to communication interfaces on modules received infront slots 102A-M orrear slots 104A-M. This may provide additional communication channels for these modules to forward data from fabric interfaces associated with their communication interfaces coupled to thesebackplane 150 communication interfaces. For example, a fabric interface associated withcommunication interface 114 onfront board 110 couples to a communication channel routed overbackplane 150 viacommunication interface 152C. Data, for example, is forwarded through the fabric interface and then through the communication channel routed tocommunication interface 152C and overbackplane 150 and then possibly through/to other modules coupled to eitherbackplane 140 orbackplane 150. - In one implementation, a fabric interface for a module received in
modular platform chassis 101 may be designed to support one or more packet-based communication protocols. Several packet-based communication protocols, for example, are associated with and/or described by sub-set specifications to the ATCA specification and are typically referred to as the “PICMG 3.x specifications.” The PICMG 3.x specifications include, but are not limited to, Ethernet/Fibre Channel (PICMG 3.1), Infiniband (PICMG 3.2), StarFabric (PICMG 3.3), PCI-Express/Advanced Switching (PICMG 3.4), Advanced Fabric Interconnect/S-RapidIO (PICMG 3.5) and Packet Routing Switch (PICMG 3.6). - In one example, a fabric interface associated with
communication interface 112 or a fabric interface associated withcommunication interface 124 may support a communication protocol described in a PICMG 3.x specification. This PICMG 3.x specification support, for example, is to facilitate the forwarding of data and/or instructions fromfront board 110 and through portions of the communication channels routed overbackplanes - In other implementations, a fabric interface for a module received in
modular platform chassis 101 may be designed to support other types of communication protocols. For example, the fabric interface may support time division multiplexing (TDM) and/or frequency division multiplexing (FDM). A fabric interface that supports TDM, for example, may operate in compliance with one or more industry standards associated with optical interconnects. One such industry standard is the Optical Internetworking Forum (OIF), TFI-5: TDM Fabric to Framer Interface Implementation, published September, 2003 and/or later versions (“the TFI-5 specification”). - In one example, fabric interfaces associated with communication interfaces on modules that couple to
backplane 140 inmodular platform chassis 101 operate in compliance with one or more packet-based PICMG 3.x specifications. In this example, fabric interfaces associated with communication interfaces on modules that couple to backplane 150 operate in compliance with a TDM-based standard such as the TFI-5 specification. Thus, in this example, packet-based communication protocols are used to forward data from modules via communication channels routed overbackplane 140 and TDM-based communication protocols are used to forward data from modules via communication channels routed overbackplane 150. - In one implementation, at least a portion of the backplanes in
modular platform chassis 101 may be either active or passive backplanes. For example, a passive backplane may operate in accordance with the ATCA specification and thus includes little to no active circuitry or logic that is resident on the backplane. An active backplane, for example, may be a backplane that includes active circuitry or logic that is resident on the backplane. -
FIG. 2A provides a side view of a portion ofmodular platform system 100 with two backplanes inmodular platform chassis 101. As portrayed inFIG. 2A , in one example, the first backplane isbackplane 140 and another backplane isbackplane 150. In one example,backplane 150 is located or mounted just abovefront board 110 andRTM 210 at the lower portion ofupper air plenum 106A.Backplane 150, in one example, is designed to be as narrow as possible to reduce the obstruction of air flow as it moves fromair inlet 205 toair outlet 207. As described below,backplane 150 may also be placed or mounted at the upper portion oflower air plenum 106B. - In addition to
lower air plenum 106B depicted inFIG. 1 formodular platform chassis 101,FIG. 2A depicts anupper air plenum 106A. In one example,lower air plenum 106B has anair inlet 205 andupper air plenum 106A has anair outlet 207. In one implementation,fan 222 is located inupper air plenum 106A and pulls air fromair inlet 205 toair outlet 207 to cool elements contained withinmodular platform chassis 101. This disclosure is not limited to only a fan located in an upper air plenum. The fan may be located anywhere withinmodular platform chassis 101 to move air to cool elements withinmodular platform chassis 101. - As described above for
FIG. 1 ,front board 110 includescommunication interfaces FIG. 2A shows a module 210 (e.g., an RTM) coupled tofront board 110.RTM 210, in one example, couples tobackplane 150 viacommunication interface 214 and couples tofront board 110 viaRTM interface 212. - In one implementation,
front board 110,backplane 140 andRTM 210 are each designed to operate in compliance with the ATCA specification. As a result,RTM interface 212 onRTM 210 couples tofront board 110 viaRTM interface 117 in another ATCA connector zone (“zone 3”). In this implementation,RTM 210 receives power when coupled tofront board 110 throughRTM interface 212. The power, for example, is provided through power feeds (not shown) routed fromRTM interface 117. The RTM interfaces onfront board 110 andRTM 210, for example, are also associated with at least one fabric interface to forward data over a communication channel betweenRTM 210 andfront board 110. - In one example,
communication interface 214 onRTM 210 is associated with a fabric interface through which data is forwarded whencommunication interface 214 is coupled tobackplane 150. Data, for example, is forwarded through this fabric interface and then through portions of a communication channel routed overbackplane 150 and through/to other modules coupled to eitherbackplane 140 orbackplane 150. As mentioned above, the fabric interface may operate in compliance with one or more communication protocols. - In one implementation, various interconnects are configured to couple the fabric interface associated with the communication interfaces on
front board 110 and RTM 220 to communication channels routed overbackplanes FIG. 2A as interconnects 112A-E, 114A and 214A. At least one interconnect from amonginterconnects 112A-E, for example, couples a fabric interface associated withcommunication interface 112 to a communication channel routed overbackplane 140. - In one example, an interconnect is configured to couple a fabric communication interface to a communication channel routed over
backplane 140 and/or 150 in an impedance controlled manner (e.g., via copper-based traces). In another example, the interconnect is configured to couple via other manners such as in an optical (e.g., via optical paths), inductive or capacitive manner. These interconnect configurations, for example, may incorporate the use of micro electromechanical systems (MEMS) which may be fabricated using silicon manufacturing technologies. - In one example of an interconnect configured to couple a fabric communication interface to a communication channel in an optical manner includes a two-dimensional (2-D), MEMS-controllable micro lens array that has been integrated with a Vertical-Cavity-Surface-Emitting-Laser (VCSEL) array and a photodiode array. The VCSEL/photodiode arrays, for example, may be packaged in a flip-chip assembly. In one example, the VCSEL/photodiode arrays allow an interconnect to implement an electrical-to-optical conversion and conversely an optical-to-electrical conversion of data forwarded/received through the communication channel coupled to the fabric interface in an optical manner.
- In one example of an interconnect configured to couple in an inductive manner, the interconnect includes an out-of-plane, three-turn spiral with micro (very small) coil dimensions. For an example of an interconnect configured to couple in a capacitive manner, the interconnect includes a parallel plate, area-tunable, MEMS capacitor. Although the disclosure is not limited to only the above mentioned interconnect configurations to couple a fabric interface to a communication channel in an impedance controlled, optical, inductive or capacitive manner.
- In one example, interconnects 112A-E for an ATCA compliant
front board 110 andbackplane 140 are high density, impedance controlled connectors as described in the ATCA specification. In this example, based onfront board 110's insertion infront slot 102C, interconnects 112A-E couple withcommunication interface 142C. As a result, a fabric interface associated withcommunication interface 112 is coupled to a communication channel routed overbackplane 140. - In one
implementation interconnect 114A onfront board 110 andinterconnect 214A onRTM 210 are configured to be vertically retractable. For example, prior to the insertion offront board 110 inslot 102C onmodular platform chassis 101,interconnect 114A may be in a retracted position. Once inserted,interconnect 114A may change its retracted position such that it couples withcommunication interface 152C onbackplane 150. This coupling may include coupling in an impedance controlled manner or, as described above, may include coupling with an interconnect configured to couple in an optical, an inductive or a capacitive manner. Thus, for example, a fabric interface associated withcommunication interface 114 is coupled to a communication channel routed overbackplane 150 via the verticallyretractable interconnect 114A. - In another implementation,
interconnect 114A andinterconnect 214A are not configured to be vertically retractable but are configured to couple tocommunication interface slot 102C. This coupling may include coupling in an impedance controlled manner or, as described above, may include a coupling in an optical, an inductive or a capacitive manner. -
FIGS. 2B provides another side view of a portion ofmodular platform system 100 with two backplanes inmodular platform chassis 101. Similar toFIG. 2A , in one example, one backplane isbackplane 140 and another backplane isbackplane 150. However,FIG. 2B depictsbackplane 150 as located or mounted at the upper portion oflower air plenum 106B. As shown inFIG. 2B , in one example,front board 110 andRTM 210's communication interfaces 114 and 214, respectively, are now located to couple tobackplane 150 in this position. -
FIG. 3A provides an additional side view of a portion ofmodular platform system 100 with a first backplane and a second wide backplane inmodular platform chassis 101. As shown inFIG. 3A , in one example, the first backplane isbackplane 140 as depicted inFIG. 1 and FIGS. 2A-B. In this example, awide backplane 350 replaces anarrow backplane 150 and is placed or mounted at the upper portion ofupper air plenum 106A. Thus, in this example,backplane 350's placement in this position lessens the need to maintain a narrow backplane to reduce the obstruction of air flow as if moves fromair inlet 205 toair outlet 207. A wider backplane, for example, may increase the quantity and types of communication channels supported and/or routed through the wider backplane. - In one example,
interconnect 114A forcommunication interface 114 is configured to include a flexible signal medium. This flexible signal medium includes, but is not limited to, a flexible circuit, a ribbon cable, a coaxial cable or an optical glass/plastic fiber. The flexible signal medium, for example is used to couplecommunication interface 114 to a communication channel that is routed overbackplane 350. In one implementation, as shown inFIG. 3A , interconnect 114A passes throughopening 119 onfront board 110 andopening 319C onmodular platform chassis 101.Interconnect 114A may then couple to communication interface 352C onbackplane 350. As a result, interconnect 114C couples a fabric interface associated withcommunication interface 114 to a communication channel that is routed overbackplane 350. This coupling may include a coupling in either an impedance controlled, optical, inductive or capacitive manner. - In one example,
interconnect 214A is configured to couple in an optical manner to a fabric interface associated withcommunication interface 214 to a communication channel that is routed tocommunication interface 154C and overbackplane 350. For example,interconnect 214A includes VCSEL/photodiode arrays.Interconnect 214A, for example, is configured to use these VCSEL/photodiode arrays to couple the fabric interface to the communication channel via an optical path. This optical path, for example, includes plastic or glass fibers and/or plastic or glass waveguides that may propagate an optical signal from the VCSEL/photodiode arrays using either single wavelength or wavelength division multiplexing (WDM). In one example, this optical path is routed frominterface 214, through the space/gap inupper air plenum 106A and tocommunication interfaces 154C without the use of flexible signal mediums or retractably configured interconnects. - In other examples, both
interconnects interconnects -
FIG. 3B provides another side view of a portion ofmodular platform system 100 with first backplane and a second wide backplane inmodular platform chassis 101. Similar toFIG. 3A , in one example, the first backplane isbackplane 140 and the second narrow backplane isbackplane 350. However,FIG. 2B depictsbackplane 350 at the bottom portion of thelower air plenum 106B. As shown inFIG. 3B , in one example, front board 10 andRTM 210's communication interfaces 114 and 214, respectively, are now located to couple tobackplane 350 in this position. - Although not depicted in FIGS. 3A-B, in one example,
interconnect 114A may be configured to couplecommunication interface 114 tocommunication interface 152C via a flexible signal medium that is routed betweenfront board 110 andRTM 210. In this example,communication interface 114 is possibly located closer toRTM interface 117 to reduce the length of the flexible signal medium. Additionally,communication interface 152C may be moved to further reduce the length of the flexible signal medium. - FIGS. 4A-C provide side views of a portion of
modular platform system 100 with three backplanes inmodular platform chassis 101.FIG. 4A depictsmodular platform chassis 101 withbackplane 140 and two example narrow backplanes,backplane 150A andbackplane 150B.FIG. 4B showsbackplane 140 and two example wide backplanes,backplane 350A andbackplane 350B.FIG. 4C portraysbackplane 140 and an example combination of a wide and a narrow backplane,backplane 350 andbackplane 150, respectively. - In one example, backplanes located or mounted in
upper air plenum 106A includecommunication interfaces 152A-M and 154A-M to couple to communication interfaces on modules received infront slots 102A-M orrear slots 104A-M. In this example, backplanes located or mounted inlower air plenum 106B include communication interfaces 156A-M and 158A-M to couple to communication interfaces on the modules received in the front and rear slots. - In one example, for each of the three backplane combinations,
front board 110 andRTM 210 includecommunication interfaces communication interfaces upper air plenum 106A and couple tocommunication interfaces lower air plenum 106B. As described above, forinterconnects 114A and 224A, an interconnect may be configured to couple a fabric interface to a communication channel via combinations of various interconnect configurations (e.g., retractable, flexible signal medium, optical path) to couple in different manners (e.g., impedance controlled, optical, inductive, capacitive). -
FIG. 5A is an illustration of an examplemodular platform system 500 withfront board 110 to be received inmodular platform chassis 501. As shown inFIG. 5A ,modular platform chassis 501 includesfront slots 502A-P. In one example, similar tomodular platform chassis 101, as described above,modular platform chassis 501 includes a plurality of backplanes to couple to communication interfaces on modules inserted in slots inmodular platform chassis 501. Although not shown inFIG. 5A , in one example,modular platform chassis 501 also includes rear slots 504A-P to receive modules (e.g., RTMs) from the rear. - In one example,
modular platform chassis 501 includesopenings 519A-P. Openings 519A-P may facilitate the routing of an interconnect from a front board inserted inslots 502A-P to a backplane inmodular platform chassis 501. For example, as shown inFIG. 5A ,interconnect 514A is configured to include a flexible signal medium that is routed through opening 519B. -
FIG. 5B , provides a side view of a portion ofmodular platform system 500 withfront board 110 received infront slot 502L ofmodular platform chassis 501. As shown inFIG. 5B ,modular platform chassis 501 includes three backplanes,backplane 540,backplane 550 andbackplane 560. In one implementation,backplane 540 is a backplane similar to thebackplane 140 described above. In that regard,backplane 540, for example, is designed in compliance with the ATCA specification. - As shown in
FIG. 5B ,backplane 550 is a wide backplane located at the upper portion ofupper air plenum 506A. In one example,backplane 550 includes communication interfaces 552A-P and 554A-P to couple to communication interfaces on modules received inmodular platform chassis 501'sfront slots 502A-P and rear slots 504A-P, respectively. In one example, similar to that described forFIG. 3A above,interconnect 114A is configured to include a flexible signal medium that is used to couple a fabric interface associated withcommunication interface 114 to a communication channel routed tocommunication interface 552L and overbackplane 550. As described above,interconnect 214A forcommunication interface 214 onRTM 210, for example, may be configured to couple a fabric interface to a communication channel routed tocommunication interface 554L and overbackplane 550. - As portrayed in
FIG. 5B ,backplane 560, in one example, is a narrow backplane located or mounted at the top portion oflower air plenum 506B. However, in this example, unlike the example narrow backplanes described above,backplane 560 does not couple to communication interfaces on modules received in rear slots 504A-P. For example,backplane 560 includes communication interfaces 566A-P to couple to communication interfaces on modules received infront slots 502A-P. In one implementation, the exclusion of a communication interface to couple to a module received in the rear slots allows for a narrower backplane that may further reduce the obstruction of airflow throughmodular platform chassis 501. - In one example,
interconnect 116A incommunication interface 116 is configured to couple a fabric interface associated withcommunication interface 116 to a communication channel routed to communication interface 566L and overbackplane 560. As described above,interconnect 116A, for example, is configured to couple via various manners (e.g., impedance controlled, optical, inductive, capacitive). -
FIG. 6 is a flow chart of an example method to insert a module into a slot in a modular platform chassis to couple the module to a plurality of backplanes. In one implementation, the example method is implemented whenfront board 110 is inserted inslot 502L inmodular platform chassis 501 as described for FIGS. 5A-B. In this example implementation,backplane 540 inmodular platform chassis 501 operates in compliance with the ATCA specification. Additionally, the fabric interface associated withcommunication interface 112 onfront board 110 operates in compliance with the ATCA specification. - The process begins in
block 610, where in one example,front board 110 is inserted infront slot 502L ofmodular platform chassis 501. - In
block 620, in one example,front board 110 couples to the backplanes inmodular platform chassis 101. For example,communication interface 112 couples tocommunication interface 542L onbackplane 540.Interconnects 112A-E, for example, are configured to couple a fabric interface associated withcommunication interface 112 to a communication channel routed overbackplane 540. The communication channel, for example, to couplefront board 110 in communication with other modules received or inserted inmodular platform chassis 501's front slots. - As described above for
FIG. 5B , in one example,interconnect 114A is used to couplecommunication interface 114 onfront board 110 tocommunication interface 552L onbackplane 550. This coupling, for example, uses aninterconnect 114A configured to include a flexible signal medium to couple a fabric interface associated withcommunication interface 114 to a communication channel routed throughbackplane 550 in either an impedance controlled, optical, inductive or capacitive manner. Also as described above,interconnect 116A can be configured to couple a fabric interface associated withcommunication interface 116 to a communication channel routed tocommunication interface 556L and overbackplane 560. - In
block 630, in one example, data is forwarded betweenfront board 110 and one or more other modules inserted or received in other slots inmodular platform chassis 501. At least portions of this data, for example, is forwarded from the fabric interfaces associated withcommunication interfaces backplanes - In one implementation, fabric interfaces associated with communication interfaces (e.g., 512) that couple to backplane 540 utilize one or more packet-based, communication protocols as described in the PICMG 3.x specifications and
backplane 540 supports or operates in compliance with these PICMG 3.x specifications. In one example, the fabric interfaces included in communication interfaces (e.g., 514 and 516) that couple tobackplanes communication protocol backplanes - The process then starts over, for example, when another module is inserted in a slot on
modular platform chassis 501. - In the previous descriptions, for the purpose of explanation, numerous specific details were set forth in order to provide an understanding of this disclosure. It will be apparent that the disclosure can be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, structures and devices were shown in block diagram form in order to avoid obscuring the disclosure.
- References made in this disclosure to the term “responsive to” are not limited to responsiveness to only a particular feature and/or structure. A feature may also be “responsive to” another feature and/or structure and also be located within that feature and/or structure. Additionally, the term “responsive to” may also be synonymous with other terms such as “communicatively coupled to” or “operatively coupled to,” although the term is not limited in his regard.
Claims (21)
Priority Applications (1)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
US11/393,389 US7458815B2 (en) | 2006-03-30 | 2006-03-30 | Module to couple to a plurality of backplanes in a chassis |
Applications Claiming Priority (1)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
US11/393,389 US7458815B2 (en) | 2006-03-30 | 2006-03-30 | Module to couple to a plurality of backplanes in a chassis |
Publications (2)
Publication Number | Publication Date |
---|---|
US20070238326A1 true US20070238326A1 (en) | 2007-10-11 |
US7458815B2 US7458815B2 (en) | 2008-12-02 |
Family
ID=38575894
Family Applications (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
US11/393,389 Expired - Fee Related US7458815B2 (en) | 2006-03-30 | 2006-03-30 | Module to couple to a plurality of backplanes in a chassis |
Country Status (1)
Country | Link |
---|---|
US (1) | US7458815B2 (en) |
Cited By (14)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US20070230148A1 (en) * | 2006-03-31 | 2007-10-04 | Edoardo Campini | System and method for interconnecting node boards and switch boards in a computer system chassis |
US20090244831A1 (en) * | 2008-04-01 | 2009-10-01 | Thales | Computer with simplified layout, designed for aviation |
US20100110645A1 (en) * | 2004-12-29 | 2010-05-06 | Edoardo Campini | Telecommuncations chassis having mezzanine card slots |
WO2012036681A1 (en) * | 2010-09-15 | 2012-03-22 | Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. | Computer system with fabric modules |
US8472194B2 (en) * | 2010-05-05 | 2013-06-25 | Custom Sensors & Technologies, Inc. | Solid state switching device with integral heatsink |
WO2014099881A1 (en) * | 2012-12-17 | 2014-06-26 | Microsoft Corporation | Substantially rigid interconnection structure for devices |
US8767725B2 (en) * | 2012-04-20 | 2014-07-01 | Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. | Backplane module |
US20160073542A1 (en) * | 2014-09-08 | 2016-03-10 | Quanta Computer Inc. | Lan port consolidation in rack architecture |
CN106465559A (en) * | 2014-04-07 | 2017-02-22 | 谷歌公司 | Systems for enabling chassis-coupled modular mobile electronic devices |
CN106462195A (en) * | 2014-08-22 | 2017-02-22 | 谷歌公司 | Systems for module interfacing of modular mobile electronic devices |
US9591784B2 (en) * | 2014-10-30 | 2017-03-07 | International Business Machines Corporation | Multiple-backplane implementations for modular platforms |
US20170139162A1 (en) * | 2015-11-16 | 2017-05-18 | Electronics And Telecommunications Research Institute | Multi-channel receiver optical sub-assembly and manufacturing method thereof |
US10027600B2 (en) * | 2014-09-10 | 2018-07-17 | Artesyn Embedded Computing, Inc. | Time-division multiplexing data aggregation over high speed serializer/deserializer lane |
CN112752467A (en) * | 2019-10-30 | 2021-05-04 | 斯玛特嵌入式计算有限公司 | Printed circuit board electrical connector locking by means of threaded fasteners |
Families Citing this family (18)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
DE102007054592B4 (en) * | 2007-11-15 | 2014-04-30 | Siemens Aktiengesellschaft | Plug connection device, designed to connect two functional elements for signal and power transmission |
US7675750B1 (en) | 2008-08-29 | 2010-03-09 | Qlogic, Corporation | Apparatus and methods for cooling networks switches |
US7646602B1 (en) * | 2008-08-29 | 2010-01-12 | Qlogic, Corporation | Apparatus and methods for cooling network switches |
US8308490B2 (en) * | 2010-09-30 | 2012-11-13 | Rockwell Automation Technologies, Inc. | Contact configuration for electronics to base connection |
CN102710423A (en) * | 2012-05-14 | 2012-10-03 | 中兴通讯股份有限公司 | Advanced telecom computing architecture (ATCA) rear panel |
US9281904B2 (en) * | 2012-08-15 | 2016-03-08 | Verizon Patent And Licensing Inc. | Active backplane designs |
US9335786B2 (en) | 2013-02-28 | 2016-05-10 | Oracle International Corporation | Adapter facilitating blind-mate electrical connection of field replaceable units with virtual backplane of computing rack |
US9936603B2 (en) * | 2013-02-28 | 2018-04-03 | Oracle International Corporation | Backplane nodes for blind mate adapting field replaceable units to bays in storage rack |
US9917936B2 (en) | 2013-10-28 | 2018-03-13 | Google Llc | Modular devices and systems configured to receive a plurality of removable modules and to enable data transfer between the modules |
US9823703B2 (en) | 2014-03-27 | 2017-11-21 | Google Inc. | Modules and connections for modules to couple to a computing device |
US9723564B2 (en) | 2014-04-07 | 2017-08-01 | Google Inc. | Systems and methods for power management of a modular mobile electronic device |
US9867125B2 (en) | 2014-04-07 | 2018-01-09 | Google Llc | Systems for enabling modular mobile electronic devices |
US10042402B2 (en) | 2014-04-07 | 2018-08-07 | Google Llc | Systems and methods for thermal management of a chassis-coupled modular mobile electronic device |
US9674320B2 (en) | 2014-08-22 | 2017-06-06 | Google Inc. | Systems and methods for enabling radio-frequency communication of a modular mobile electronic device |
US9614942B2 (en) | 2014-08-22 | 2017-04-04 | Google Inc. | Systems and methods for tangible configuration of a modular mobile electronic device |
CA2978365A1 (en) * | 2015-03-12 | 2016-09-15 | Ge Aviation Systems Limited | Power distribution rack assembly |
US9595798B2 (en) * | 2015-06-17 | 2017-03-14 | The Boeing Company | VME P2 five row interface adapter assembly, system, and method |
US10243287B1 (en) * | 2018-04-26 | 2019-03-26 | Quanta Computer Inc. | Riser card |
Citations (12)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US2731609A (en) * | 1954-09-29 | 1956-01-17 | Rca Corp | Sliding connector for printed circuit boards |
US4017770A (en) * | 1974-11-22 | 1977-04-12 | Applicazione Elettrotelefoniche Spa | Connecting device for telecommunication circuits |
US4158220A (en) * | 1976-12-29 | 1979-06-12 | Fujitsu Limited | Printed circuit card construction |
US4164362A (en) * | 1977-03-11 | 1979-08-14 | Amp Incorporated | Modular card cage with multiple power bus bar means |
US4352533A (en) * | 1978-10-31 | 1982-10-05 | Fujitsu Limited | Connector device for printed boards |
US4421372A (en) * | 1979-06-13 | 1983-12-20 | The Babcock & Wilcox Company | Insertion-withdrawal mechanism for rack mounted circuit boards |
US4470100A (en) * | 1981-12-21 | 1984-09-04 | Storage Technology Partners | Printed circuit board connector for use in computer systems |
US4631637A (en) * | 1985-12-23 | 1986-12-23 | Burroughs Corporation | Dual backplane interconnect system |
US4789352A (en) * | 1987-12-02 | 1988-12-06 | Amp Incorporated | Power connector having linearly moving cam for daughter card |
US4860163A (en) * | 1988-08-05 | 1989-08-22 | American Telephone And Telegraph Company | Communication equipment cabinet cooling arrangement |
US5618197A (en) * | 1993-10-12 | 1997-04-08 | Telafonaktiebolaget Lm Ericsson | Arrangement for establishing electrical connection |
US20060126292A1 (en) * | 2004-12-14 | 2006-06-15 | Pfahnl Andreas C | Air cooling architecture for orthogonal board architectures |
-
2006
- 2006-03-30 US US11/393,389 patent/US7458815B2/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
Patent Citations (13)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US2731609A (en) * | 1954-09-29 | 1956-01-17 | Rca Corp | Sliding connector for printed circuit boards |
US4017770A (en) * | 1974-11-22 | 1977-04-12 | Applicazione Elettrotelefoniche Spa | Connecting device for telecommunication circuits |
US4158220A (en) * | 1976-12-29 | 1979-06-12 | Fujitsu Limited | Printed circuit card construction |
US4164362A (en) * | 1977-03-11 | 1979-08-14 | Amp Incorporated | Modular card cage with multiple power bus bar means |
US4352533A (en) * | 1978-10-31 | 1982-10-05 | Fujitsu Limited | Connector device for printed boards |
US4421372A (en) * | 1979-06-13 | 1983-12-20 | The Babcock & Wilcox Company | Insertion-withdrawal mechanism for rack mounted circuit boards |
US4470100A (en) * | 1981-12-21 | 1984-09-04 | Storage Technology Partners | Printed circuit board connector for use in computer systems |
US4631637A (en) * | 1985-12-23 | 1986-12-23 | Burroughs Corporation | Dual backplane interconnect system |
US4789352A (en) * | 1987-12-02 | 1988-12-06 | Amp Incorporated | Power connector having linearly moving cam for daughter card |
US4860163A (en) * | 1988-08-05 | 1989-08-22 | American Telephone And Telegraph Company | Communication equipment cabinet cooling arrangement |
US5618197A (en) * | 1993-10-12 | 1997-04-08 | Telafonaktiebolaget Lm Ericsson | Arrangement for establishing electrical connection |
US20060126292A1 (en) * | 2004-12-14 | 2006-06-15 | Pfahnl Andreas C | Air cooling architecture for orthogonal board architectures |
US7280356B2 (en) * | 2004-12-14 | 2007-10-09 | Amphenol Corporation | Air cooling architecture for orthogonal board architectures |
Cited By (29)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US20100110645A1 (en) * | 2004-12-29 | 2010-05-06 | Edoardo Campini | Telecommuncations chassis having mezzanine card slots |
US8351198B2 (en) * | 2004-12-29 | 2013-01-08 | Intel Corporation | Telecommunications chassis having mezzanine card slots |
US8913379B2 (en) * | 2004-12-29 | 2014-12-16 | Intel Corporation | Telecommunications chassis having mezzanine card interfaces |
US20070230148A1 (en) * | 2006-03-31 | 2007-10-04 | Edoardo Campini | System and method for interconnecting node boards and switch boards in a computer system chassis |
US20090244831A1 (en) * | 2008-04-01 | 2009-10-01 | Thales | Computer with simplified layout, designed for aviation |
US8000096B2 (en) * | 2008-04-01 | 2011-08-16 | Thales | Computer with simplified layout, designed for aviation |
US8472194B2 (en) * | 2010-05-05 | 2013-06-25 | Custom Sensors & Technologies, Inc. | Solid state switching device with integral heatsink |
US9219699B2 (en) | 2010-09-15 | 2015-12-22 | Hewlett Packad Enterprise Development LP | Computer system with fabric modules |
CN103097977A (en) * | 2010-09-15 | 2013-05-08 | 惠普发展公司,有限责任合伙企业 | Computer system with fabric modules |
WO2012036681A1 (en) * | 2010-09-15 | 2012-03-22 | Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. | Computer system with fabric modules |
GB2496338A (en) * | 2010-09-15 | 2013-05-08 | Hewlett Packard Development Co | Computer system with fabric modules |
US8767725B2 (en) * | 2012-04-20 | 2014-07-01 | Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. | Backplane module |
WO2014099881A1 (en) * | 2012-12-17 | 2014-06-26 | Microsoft Corporation | Substantially rigid interconnection structure for devices |
US8947888B2 (en) | 2012-12-17 | 2015-02-03 | Microsoft Corporation | Substantially rigid interconnection structure for devices |
CN105075286A (en) * | 2012-12-17 | 2015-11-18 | 微软技术许可有限责任公司 | Substantially rigid interconnection structure for devices |
CN106465559A (en) * | 2014-04-07 | 2017-02-22 | 谷歌公司 | Systems for enabling chassis-coupled modular mobile electronic devices |
EP3130208A4 (en) * | 2014-04-07 | 2017-12-13 | Google LLC | Systems for enabling chassis-coupled modular mobile electronic devices |
CN106462195A (en) * | 2014-08-22 | 2017-02-22 | 谷歌公司 | Systems for module interfacing of modular mobile electronic devices |
EP3183626A4 (en) * | 2014-08-22 | 2018-06-20 | Google LLC | Systems for module interfacing of modular mobile electronic devices |
CN105404365A (en) * | 2014-09-08 | 2016-03-16 | 广达电脑股份有限公司 | Rack system and operation method therefor |
US9750153B2 (en) * | 2014-09-08 | 2017-08-29 | Quanta Computer, Inc. | LAN port consolidation in rack architecture |
US20160073542A1 (en) * | 2014-09-08 | 2016-03-10 | Quanta Computer Inc. | Lan port consolidation in rack architecture |
US10027600B2 (en) * | 2014-09-10 | 2018-07-17 | Artesyn Embedded Computing, Inc. | Time-division multiplexing data aggregation over high speed serializer/deserializer lane |
US9591784B2 (en) * | 2014-10-30 | 2017-03-07 | International Business Machines Corporation | Multiple-backplane implementations for modular platforms |
US20170139162A1 (en) * | 2015-11-16 | 2017-05-18 | Electronics And Telecommunications Research Institute | Multi-channel receiver optical sub-assembly and manufacturing method thereof |
US9904023B2 (en) * | 2015-11-16 | 2018-02-27 | Electronics And Telecommunications Research Institute | Multi-channel receiver optical sub-assembly and manufacturing method thereof |
US20180136419A1 (en) * | 2015-11-16 | 2018-05-17 | Electronics And Telecommunications Research Institute | Multi-channel receiver optical sub-assembly and manufacturing method thereof |
US10268004B2 (en) * | 2015-11-16 | 2019-04-23 | Electronics And Telecommunications Research Institute | Multi-channel receiver optical sub-assembly and manufacturing method thereof |
CN112752467A (en) * | 2019-10-30 | 2021-05-04 | 斯玛特嵌入式计算有限公司 | Printed circuit board electrical connector locking by means of threaded fasteners |
Also Published As
Publication number | Publication date |
---|---|
US7458815B2 (en) | 2008-12-02 |
Similar Documents
Publication | Publication Date | Title |
---|---|---|
US7458815B2 (en) | Module to couple to a plurality of backplanes in a chassis | |
EP1884148B1 (en) | Data transport module | |
US7452236B2 (en) | Cabling for rack-mount devices | |
US7126820B2 (en) | Modular platform system and apparatus | |
US7272274B1 (en) | Module to couple to an electrical and an optical backplane in a chassis | |
EP1241502B1 (en) | Hot-pluggable opto-electronic transceiver module having optical fiber connectors | |
US6195493B1 (en) | Universal chassis for CATV headends or telecommunications company central office for optical electronic equipment | |
WO2016180066A1 (en) | System and method for photonic structure and switch | |
US20200192035A1 (en) | High-density fabric systems interconnected with multi-port aggregated cables | |
CN110879442B (en) | Modular panel optical connection | |
US20140049931A1 (en) | Active backplane designs | |
US20050282413A1 (en) | Small form factor pluggable module providing passive optical signal processing of wavelength division multiplexed signals | |
US20170017052A1 (en) | Active optical cable module for cable system | |
US11039224B2 (en) | Telecommunication appliance having high density embedded pluggable optics | |
US10880622B2 (en) | Assembly for high-speed interconnection of digital electrical components | |
US20230176304A1 (en) | Communication systems having pluggable modules | |
US20050099772A1 (en) | Rear transition module interface enhancement | |
US10116074B1 (en) | Graded midplane | |
US10928601B2 (en) | Network topology modules | |
EP3382434A1 (en) | Modular mid- or backplane structure | |
US8989549B2 (en) | Topology-defining cards for optically interconnected telecommunication systems | |
EP2991362A1 (en) | A connector panel for plug-in units of a telecommunication system and associated shelf | |
JPH1167382A (en) | Mounting structure of optical-electrical mixed loading device | |
WO2017065734A1 (en) | Pluggable communication devices |
Legal Events
Date | Code | Title | Description |
---|---|---|---|
AS | Assignment |
Owner name: INTEL CORPORATION, CALIFORNIA Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNORS:FALLAH-ADL, HASSAN;CAMPINI, EDOARDO;ALBERS, ROBERT J.;REEL/FRAME:020499/0820;SIGNING DATES FROM 20060515 TO 20060518 |
|
STCF | Information on status: patent grant |
Free format text: PATENTED CASE |
|
FPAY | Fee payment |
Year of fee payment: 4 |
|
FPAY | Fee payment |
Year of fee payment: 8 |
|
FEPP | Fee payment procedure |
Free format text: MAINTENANCE FEE REMINDER MAILED (ORIGINAL EVENT CODE: REM.); ENTITY STATUS OF PATENT OWNER: LARGE ENTITY |
|
LAPS | Lapse for failure to pay maintenance fees |
Free format text: PATENT EXPIRED FOR FAILURE TO PAY MAINTENANCE FEES (ORIGINAL EVENT CODE: EXP.); ENTITY STATUS OF PATENT OWNER: LARGE ENTITY |
|
STCH | Information on status: patent discontinuation |
Free format text: PATENT EXPIRED DUE TO NONPAYMENT OF MAINTENANCE FEES UNDER 37 CFR 1.362 |
|
FP | Lapsed due to failure to pay maintenance fee |
Effective date: 20201202 |